Input Devices

The mouse is used to control the movement of a pointer on the screen when it is
moved horizontally over a flat surface. A ball under the mouse rotates when it is
moved and turns two rods, one for left/right and one for up/down. Buttons on
the mouse let you select options from menus and drag objects around the screen
etc. Some models are now wireless.

A tracker ball is used in the same way as a mouse but it is useful where
desk space is limited. It is like an upside down mouse because the user
rotates the ball and the main body part stays still. It has buttons like a
standard mouse.

The standard QWERTY keyboard is the commonest way to

enter text and numerical data into a computer. Each individual
key is a switch, which when pressed, sends a digital code to the
computer. For example, pressing the 'A' key produces the
binary code 01100001 representing the lower case letter 'a'.
Holding down the shift key at the same time produces the
binary code 01000001 representing the upper case letter 'A'.

The Specialist Keyboard – Concept Keyboard. These are

sometimes called membrane or overlay keyboards. They
are used where it fast input is needed and are ideally
suited to selecting from a limited range of choices. You
simply touch the image on the keyboard overlay to make a
selection and the computer is programmed to respond
correctly.

Another specialist keyboard is the Braille Keyboard. The Braille

alphabet is made up of patterns of raised dots and the keys of this
keyboard are marked with these raised dots as an aid for the blind.

Digital Cameras. These are used to take photographs like a normal

camera but produce digital images instead of using film.
The light passing through the lens is digitised by special light
sensitive sensors. The image is stored on memory chips in the camera
and can then be transferred to a computer.
The resolution of such cameras is increasing rapidly and professional models have
become standard in photo-journalism. Images are usually compressed as jpeg's to
save memory. Advanced models have removable memory cards to increase the
camera's storage capacity. Images can be transferred to a computer by cables or
memory card readers.

Scanner These are used to digitise images of pages or objects. A

light moves slowly over the surface of the picture or object to be
scanned. The colours of the reflected light are detected and digitised to build up a
digital image. The digital data can then be saved by a computer as an image file. They
can be used with OCR software to convert images of text into actual text data which
can be edited by a word processor.

Magnetic Stripe Reader. Magnetic stripes are thin strips of

magnetic tape which are usually found on the back of plastic credit
and debit cards. When the card is inserted into a reader (in an
Automatic Teller Machine or ATM for example) the tapes slides
past a playback head similar to that used in a tape recorder. This
reads the data from the stripe and passes it to a computer.

Joysticks are usually used for playing computer games. They input directional
data like a mouse but work by switches being closed as the joystick is moved
left or right and up or down.
Further switches are controlled by buttons such as the 'fire' button.

Microphone. This is used for the input of sound which is then

digitised by the computer. Voice recognition software can be used
to convert your voice into text or to control menu options.

A video digitiser is used to convert analogue signals from a video camera or

video cassette recorder into a digital format. The digitised video data can then be
saved as a file or played on the screen. Software will allow the video to be edited
and special effects added, as well as individual still images to be captured and
saved. Digital video cameras digitise the image inside the camera and save the
video frames in a digital format. This data can then be transferred directly to the
computer via a fast transfer cable and interface such as firewire.

MIDI Instruments. These are used to produce music and are

normal musical instruments which have a midi port for input into
a midi interface in the computer. They often have a wide range
of special effects or stored sound data from real instruments.
Specialised software allows the digitised music data to be stored as a file, displayed on
screen and edited ready for playback.

Sensors. These detect changes in the physical or

chemical environment and convert them into
electrical signals. These signals can then be digitised
and used by the computer. There are a huge range
of possible sensors and they include: heat; light;
sound; movement; magnetism; pressure; strain; acidity
(pH); oxygen levels; liquid levels; humidity; pulse
rates; salinity; water flow; speed and acceleration.
Switch sensors can detect angles of tilt or whether something is open or closed. Sensors
are often used when data logging.

Remote Control. This emits a beam of infra-red light which carries digital data signals.
They are often used to control TV's and VCR's. More advanced models can be
programmed to transmit a series of commands with one button press.
TASK Using the text book or website, make a list of advantages and
disadvantages of the input devices.

Device Advantage Disadvantage

Mouse

Tracker Ball

Qwerty Keyboard

Concept Keyboard

Digital Camera

Scanner

Magnetic Stripe
Reader

Remote Control